Walking Dead alum Samantha Morton pays tribute to Kay Mellor

Samantha Morton did a fantastic job bringing Alpha to life on The Walking Dead series. This iconic character was featured in the comic story with much expected of the on-screen persona. Morton’s portrayal of the Whisperers’ intelligent, psychopathic and sadistic leader gave viewers chills. This week Morton had much sorrow in her life as she had to say goodbye to a woman who inspired her as a young actor, writer Kay Mellor.

In an interview with The Guardian, Morton called Mellor a “fighter, a warrior woman and an insanely talented.” Mellor was 71 at her death and wrote many shows over her 30-year career. One of the shows was Band of Gold which starred a 17-year-old Morton as a sex worker. Morton shared that this was a working-class drama, written by women, starring women, that was directed and produced by women, which was unheard of at the time.

Morton also counted herself lucky to play Jane Eyre in an adaptation written by Mellor. She stated, “But Kay believed in me. She changed my life.”

Our deepest condolences go out to Samantha Morton on her loss.

Samantha Morton – The Walking Dead and more

Morton will reprise her role as Alpha for the last episode of season 1 of the spinoff series Tales of the Walking Dead. There has been no synopsis released for this episode, so it will be exciting to see what story is told.

She is well known for her roles in The Sandman (podcast series), Harlots, Rillington Place, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Last Panthers, and Ruby’s voice in the animated series Max & Ruby. 

Next, Morton will be seen in She Said, The Whale and The Serpent Queen. 

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